Curved grating



1932- E. .F. .1. TIPPEL. 1,874,385

CURVED 'GRATINQ' Filed m). 18. .1951

2 sneets-sneet 1 INVENTOR Edgard FJTz'ppel ATTORNEY Aug. 30, 1932 I. F, J. "mum.

OUIWID ORA-HUG I11 Fob. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 d o w T NT W1 mt W 0 w r Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED" STATES TENT FI EDWABDI'. .1. mrm. 01 saw ou, n. 1., mmma'mmvms 1m woaxs coxrm. a coaronarron or m ro p exams 1 application am February 1:, i031. semi-int. 510,588. y I 1 This invention relates generally to continuous grating structures of the class shown in U. S. Patent to W. A. YamHoflen Np. 1,629,134, dated May 17, 1927, andalso 1n Patents Nos. 1,732,902 and 1,7 33,903 to P. L. Price,-No..1,733,923 to J. A. Voskamp, and No. 1,733,965 toW. E. Irving. all dated Oct. 29, 1929, but more specifically said present invention comprises certain modifications of such gratings which will preserve the effect of continuity of a uniform mesh when individual sections or panels, to be connected together or to standard sections or. panels,

are bent or curved laterally to enable the entire, continuous structure so produced to be deflected from a straight line to any desired extent necessary to carry it around corners or bends such as frequently occur in runways or highways y Gratings of the classreferred to are now being used for armoring the avements of bridges, and are being serious y considered for use in armoring the surfaces of concrete highwa pavements. In the first of theabove outlin uses it is sometimes necessary to extend the grating around bends in connecting the bridge floor with its approaches, and in the use on highways it will, of course, be necessary to maintain substantial continuity around many curves and corners.

Much effort has heretofore been expended on attempts todesign a grating structure which will solve the curve and corner problem in a mannerthat will enable standard unit panels to be economically manufactured with existing plant equi ment, and then be readily connected to etiier on the job by workmen fami'liar'on y with methods now used for connecting strai ht panels'of this type. Any formation 0 curved or bent jolnts between panels, so that a portion .of a polygonal perimeter approaching a curve in outline may be reduced by so connecting a series of straig t panels, necessarily introduces many complications in shop-practice and installationmethods, and does not roduce satisfactory results as to durability and appearance of continuity. Also the use fulshaping of a largejnumber oi each v to an arclof difl'ere'nt radius, and a progressive elongation of thecrimpfin successive bent strips, and this in turn requires skill, special machinery and dies and much time, and also involves peculiar diflicultiesin properly spacing the rivet holes.

. I have found, however, that all and some other difficulties can be overcome by bendin the standard panels at or near v strips of metal connecting and spacing apart these bent bars maybe arrangedin the usual their mid le points,or at some other defi- 'nitely located oints which will be found unimanner, beginning at each end of each anel and meeting at the bend, where, if sai connecting strips are of the crimped, longitudi-' nally extendingorder, some may continue in integral form around said bend,fand the rest may each be separated into two parts by such relatively arranged small gaps that inset strips, continuing the standard meshoutline,

may be inserted and fastened tothe adjacent longer stripsand straight bars by rivets or other means in the usual way so as toleave noloose ends, and this with no very notices able variation from the standardfspacing between rivet, bolt or welded joint centers.

Various arrangements of such inset strips ma be devised to meet the requirementsof di erent job-layouts, and it is .unpossible'to define any set of absolute or relative dimensions which would applyto all embodiments of this invention, but in the, accompan ing drawings I have illustrated forms of at gfla ting panels showing typical specimen of stri arrangements accommodating the ass 0 grating and angle of bend there represented in the best manner now known to me. In said drawings:

Fi 1 is a plan view of a bent ating pane in which some of the crim f strips are continuous, others left with ort open gaps, and others connected together by short inset pieces.

Fi 2 is a similar view of a modification in w 'ch all pairs of crimpedstrips are connected by short inset pieces, and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan, on smaller scale, of an armored highway pavement embodymg my invention and extending around a curve in the road. Throughout the drawings like reference Meters indicate like parts. Referring to gig. 1, the bent anel X, there shown, is comof aralle bars numbered 1 to 5 in sets of five w ich are spaced'apart and connected together throughout all or major portions of their lengths by bent strips num ered .11 to 15, also arranged in correspondin sets of five and each fastened to adjacent ars at all points of contact therewith by similar stanard rivets 10, 10, in the usual way. The bars are all bent at the same angle with the-locus of the ben s extending along straight dotted line 7 4. The bent strips have uniform crimps fliroughout except that the crimp in continuous strip 11, which is'in this locus, is slightly deformed to correspond to the bends in the bars. The registry of the standard crimps in adjacent strips one with another necessitates cutting the remaining strips 12 to of each set in the neighborhood of the bends in the adjacent bars and leaving ga s between the adjacent ends so formed. The gaps 6 6, so le t in strips 12 and 13 are so short that it is not necessary to fill them to preserve the general effect of continuity of mesh, but the gaps between the adjacent ends of stri s 14'and 15, being nearly equal to one mesh ength, are preferabl bridged across by inset strips 24, 25, having substantially thestandard crimp outline and forming lap joints 18, 18, with the lou er strips, which joints are held together and to bar 5 by spe cial rivets 40, 40, long enough to include the 5-ply fastening so resulting.- The twoly fastening between each inset strip 24 and ar 4 is formed by a special short rivet 20. The ends of each panel above described are formed to comply with an desired uniform system of splicing to ena le them to be readil connected together or to standard straig t panels of the same system and so produce a curved runway, or pavement armorin as indicated in Fig. 3, where'X or Y indicatebent anels, 9, 9, straight panels,

8, 8, the splice oci between panels, and 21 the concrete pavement. The particular panel ends for formin these spliced joints here shown are those escribed in the previously mentioned patent to Van Hofien, No. 1,629,-

55 134, but any other desired form of splice might be substituted for this particular variety.

Referring to Fi 2, the bent panel Y there shown is compose of parallel bars numbered 31 to 35 in sets of five, which bars are also spaced apart and connected together throughout major ortions of their lengths by bent strips num ered 41 to 45, arranged in corre' sponding sets of five, each strip being fastened to adjacent bars at all points of contact therewith by standard rivets 10, 10, in the usual way. These bars, as before, are all bent at the same angle, with the locus of the bends extending along straight dotted line 7-7, which bisects the angle formed by each bent bar. The bent strips have uniform crimps and extend from either end of the panel nearly to the bends in their associated bars, but gaps are left at said bends so that the bent strips are really in pairs. The first three pairs 41, 41; 42, 42; and 43, 43, are of equal length and have a gap of at least one mesh length between the members of the air The next two pairs, 44 and 45, are hal a mesh length longer than the first three. Considering each set'of five strips the'adjacent ends of each pair are separated by intervening distances substantially as follows, counting from the concave side of the bent panel; 41, 41, a little more than one mesh-length; 42, 42 and 43, 43, a little less than two-mesh lengths, and 44, 44, and 45,45, by about one mesh-length. The spaces so left are preferably filled by short inset bent strips having approximately the standard crimp outline and proper lengths as follows: 51, a little more than one meshlength; 52, and 53 a little less than two meshlengths, and 54 and 55 about one mesh-length. These inset strips are slightly deformed as may be necessary to fit them in between the bent bars on either side, and between the longer bent strips at either end, as shown. Preferably they are all fastened to the adjacent bars where in direct contact with the latter by standard rivets 10 or 10a forming the standard 3-ply fastenings between bars and strips and by short rivets 20 forming the 2- ply fastenings 17, 17. Strips 42, 52 and 43, 53, are connected by lap joints forming components of the 4-ply fastenings 19, 19, held together by long rivets 30, 30. The connections between strips 41 and 51,44 and 54, and and are butt joints employing the extra rivets 10a and 20, but these details of butt and overlap joints may be varied to suit special cases, according to whatever method will most nearly approximate the desired effect of continuity of a uniform mesh.

The reason why the first strip 41 of each set of five in panel Y'is not made continuous like strip 11, in panel'X, is because the space between the crimps in 41 on either side of the grating bend must be greater than can be filled in by one deformed standard crimp in a continuous strip, as is done in panel X. This Lamas:

wider separation is necessary to avoid too great a shortening of the insets 52 and 53 of two mesh-length which, even in the present arrangement, must have some of their crimp sections considerably distorted to fit into the spaces left for them.

An important advantage of the invention is the fewness of the departures from standard grating practice required for its various embodiments. The straight bars can easily all be bent to the same angle, and the rivet hole spacing in them is nearly all of standard ward the middle, or the one ortwo non-uniterm spaces can be clearly marked on eachbar and then the punching can be done as usual by running the bar through the punch from end to end, using the standard spacing gauge, except at the middle, where one or two holes will be punched according to said markin s. The longer bent strips 11 to 15 are all crimped in the regular way on one set of dies, and the only special crimp needed is for the insets 24 and 25. shown in Fig. 2 presents the same advantages but to a slightly less degree. \Vhen either type of bent panel is being used they can be connected together by the same method used in connecting straight panels of the same end-construction.

Various changes inthe details of construction here shown could be made without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Difi'ercnt angles of deflection in the parallel bars might require minor modifications in the rivet spacingsiat the bend, and in the outline of the insetistrips, and some of the latter might be dispensed with altogether, or other filling elements used for bridging the short gaps between the longer crimped strips. In all cases, however, the efl'ect of substantial continuity ofmesh would be retained, and also the rigidity of structure and simplicity-of manufacture.

In order that additional lines of grating panels may be fastened to the upper edges of those illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, bolts 22 are shown as the fastening means for the outside bars 3 and 32, instead of rivets. The

panels for filling in the inner portions of a broad roadway would be shipped without any bars along their concave sides and so could be bolted directly to the panels shown here, after removing bolts 22, 22, assembling the panels and replacing the bolts. Having described my invention, I claim: 1. A grating for use in flooring and pavements which comprises, in combination, a plurality of parallel bars each bent through The arrangement a strips. I

a common angle with locus "of said bends extending transversely of said bars, a series of uniformly bent strips located between and serving to connect together said;

bars along the major portions: of their straight sections and a seriesof'short bent strips loeatedbetween and serving to connect together certain of the bent sections of said bars, saidinserted short strips being bent intoa shape substantially the'same as that of the crimps in saiduniforml bent stri L- 2, A combination such as refined in im 1 in which said; short stripsrare bentinto forms approximating the crimps in thesaid uniformly bent strips and have their ends placed against the adjacent endsof certain of the latter;whereby a generalefiect of uniformity and continuity. of mesh throughout the grating structure is produced.

ments w ichcomprises,in combination, a plu- .rality of parallel bars eachbent through a common angle with the locus of said bends extending transversely of said bars'in a subs tantially straight line, two vseries of'u'nifformly crimped strips located between and serving to'connect to ether. said bars along major portionsof their straight sections but having their-adjacent ends spaced, apart by distances suficientto form, approximately .one to ,two mesh-lengths, anda series at short crimped strips; between said 1 adjacent ends of all the longer strips and between said bars, and connected ,to the latter, said inserted short. strips having crimp outlines substantially the s e asthose of said longer 4. A combination such as defined in claim 3 in which said inserted short strips are arranged in recurrent. sets of five, the members of each sethaving different lengths substantially as follows, .coiuntin from the endof each set nearer the inside o the grating bend; one of one mesh-length, two of two-mesh length, and two of onemesh-lengt-h, with the crimp outlines slightly distorted to adjust them to thebendsin' the straight bars and the spaces to be filled between ends of said longer strips. j q h 5. 'A laterally bent ating for use in floor,- ings and pavements which comprises, in combination, a plurality of parallel bars each bent through a common angle with the locus of said bends extending transversely of said bars in a substantially straight line, and a pluralit of relatively long, uniformly crimped strips located etween and serving to connect together said. bars along major portions of the straight sections of some thereof and along all ortions of the remainin bars, and a series 0 short strips bent approxi- -mately to the uniform crimp outline of said 3. A rating, for usein floorings and pave 4 Q enses strips fastened to the bars adjacent there Q- 6.=A metallic armoring for a curved section of a highway comprising, in combination, a series of grating panels spliced togetherat their abuttin ends, each of said panels being bent latera ly at an intermediate point in its length, and'being formed of a plurality of parallel bars, each bent to the m same degree with the locus of all said bends extending transversely'of said panel on substantially a strai htline, and a plurality of strips having su stantially uniform successive crimps located between and fastened to said bars at'all points of contact therewith;

whereby said structure? is given a polygonal v outline approximating. that of an arc of a circle. Y Y

i 7. As a new article of manufacture, a latgo erally bent panel of ating which comprises, in combination, a p urality of parallel bars each bent to the same degree with the locus' of all said bends extending transversely of said panel in a substantiallystrai ht line, and

so a plurality of strips of substantia 1 uniform outlines connecting together an I spacing apart said bars so that the visual effect of the assembly is that of a substantially uniform grating mesh throu bout the panel.

8. As a new artifie of manufacture, a'laterally bent panel of rating which comprises, incombination, a p urality of parallel bars each bent to the same degree with the locus V of all said bends extending transversely of 86 said panel in a substantially straight line and a plurality of strips of substantiall uni orm outlines connecting together an spacin apart said bars, said strips being arranged in one continuous standard pattern from I so each end of the-panel to the locus of the bend therein and a minor number of short strips of approximately the same outlines bein there inset to piece out spaces there left tween said first mentioned strips, a d to brid over such space with substantial iy the sai standard attern. f Signed at Long sland City, in the count of Queens and State of New York this 16 t day of February, A D. 1931. EDWARD F. J. TIPPEL. 

